Moeen Ali retires from international cricket

ENGLAND allrounder Moeen Ali has retired from international cricket at age 37, the player told the Daily Mail in an interview published on Saturday (7).

The Birmingham-born left-handed batter and right-arm spinner has played in 68 tests, 138 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 92 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) for England since 2014, with his last international appearance in June.

"I'm 37 years old and didn't get picked for this month's Australia series," Ali said.

"I've played a lot of cricket for England. It's time for the next generation, which was also explained to me. It felt the time was right. I've done my part."

The first Asian-origin cricketer to captain England in T20Is, Ali has scored five centuries in tests and three in ODIs, also taking 366 wickets across all three formats. He was in the squad when England won the 50-over World Cup in 2019 and the T20 World Cup in 2022.

Ali, who holds the England record for the fastest half-century in T20Is having reached fifty in 16 balls against South Africa in 2022, said he was proud of his international career.

"When you first play for England, you don't know how many games you are going to play. So to play nearly 300 ... I know they were the best days of my life," Ali said.

Ali said he planned to keep playing in franchise cricket and take up coaching in the future.

"I could hold on and try to play for England again, but I know in reality I won't," he added.

"Even retiring, I don't feel it's because I'm not good enough ... but I get how things are, and the team needs to evolve into another cycle. It's about being real to myself."

Ali made his international debut in 2014 against the West Indies. Over his career, he amassed 6,678 runs and took 366 wickets in international cricket. He was part of the England squad that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup.

Initially more inclined towards batting, Moeen honed his bowling skills while playing for England, eventually becoming one of their leading Test bowlers. He ended his Test career with 204 wickets, ranking as the third-highest wicket-taking spinner for England in Tests, behind Derek Underwood (297) and Graeme Swann (255).

(with inputs from Reuters)